Jamaica’s new George Floyd murals highlight human cost of police brutality
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The newly unveiled George Floyd murals at the Jamaica Colosseum Mall honor the legacy of Floyd and other Black men, women and children killed by police. Photo courtesy of Magic Hands Murals
By Rachel Vick
Two murals honoring George Floyd and uplifting the nationwide protests touched off by his murder now adorn the walls of the Jamaica Colosseum Mall.
The larger-than life-portraits by New York City-based artists William Bentley and Shenna Vaughn are framed by the names of other Black men, women and children killed by police brutality, including Jamaica native Sean Bell. The murals also include a quote: “They took his life. He is giving us our future.”
Floyd’s brother Terrence Floyd, attended the mural unveiling and said the art made him feel that his brother was “right there,” Bentley said.
Bentley said the murals are designed “to evoke respect and acceptance of George Floyd as a human being.”
“And the other victims were human beings that lived and that, like all others have, a right to live and right to justice,” he continued. “That's something that's forgotten when we discuss our differences — that each of us deserves justice.”
Bentley, who with Vaughn runs the artist collective Magic Hands Murals, said the team focused on the purpose of the project rather than potential community reactions.
“Art helps us take our time, and in dark times we take on an impulsive nature; we react, we’re afraid,” Bentley said. “With art, if you can stop to look at art you can stop to think, to plan and to set goals. You can handle things just as nature would intend and the natural course of everything takes time — even justice.”
“What you put out is what you get back,” Vaughn added.
One mural is located on the ground level and another appears on the top floor of the parking garage.
The mall’s property manager, Thomas Logan, commissioned the murals to convey the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I thought about artwork and I wanted to put something here, where the most eyes would see to correct the narrative and bring it back to center,” Logan said.
